They paid me...

...so I didn't quit today.

No explanation was given as to why the paycheck I was supposed to receive last Wednesday was not in my hands until today.

Paula's Beef Stroganoff with Sun Dried Tomatoes

I created this one while walking through the grocery store a few years back....not your usual beef stroganoff....the sauce ends up dark brown, and very savory.
I don't often cook with canned soup, but this recipe is what it is...and if you try it, you'll probably love it as much as we do!
I wish I'd had the chance to make this one for my dad....even when he was sick, he might have eaten this...it's truly delicious!


Paula's Beef Stroganoff with sun dried tomatoes

3 lb lean chuck roast, cut into strips and trimmed of fat
2 C diced portabella mushrooms
1 small jar of sun dried tomatoes, drained and sliced into strips
1 can Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
fill empty Campbell's can half way with milk to make sauce
Lowry's Garlic Salt
Dash of red wine
Olive oil
Cooked egg noodles

Season the strips of beef with the garlic salt, and brown in a large skillet with some olive oil. Remove from pan. De-glaze pan with a dash of red wine, add mushrooms and tomatoes to wine in pan. Whisk milk into soup, and pour sauce into skillet, put meat back in skillet. Mix everything well, lower heat, and cover. Simmer 10 minutes. Serve over cooked noodles.

Further evidence.....

*click picture to enlarge*

*click picture to enlarge*

....grackles from outer space......

no really...look again.

The first picture doesn't really show it well, but the tree in the background is FULL of birds, and that cloud of birds really is HUGE. And look how they're on top of the signs....

And the second picture....the wires aren't all that thick...they're just lined with birds.

Solid birds.

Click on the image itself, and you can see an enlarged view.

The sound is deafening.
It's BIZARRE! (but, apparently commonplace in this part of the country....but STILL, I feel like Tippi Hedren.....and that I should shield my eyes....)

Friday off...with update....

The turkey breast wrapped in bacon turned out PERFECTLY! I can't wait for left overs on a sammich for lunch today!

My first pay check is waiting for me at work, so Dave and I are going to go pick it up, and I will get to show him my office with my name on the door.

I could have stayed an hour after I punched out on Wednesday, and waited in line for my check, but it's not good until today anyway, and there won't be a line if I go this morning to pick it up.

I am anxious to see how much it is. Even with the cut hours, it will still be a pretty good amount of money for almost 2 weeks of work. (I didn't start until noon on my first day)

We are also going to brave a trip to Walgreens, and maybe even Target. If the parking lots are too full, though, we will abort our mission and try again tomorrow.

UPDATE: THEY DIDN'T HAVE MY EFFING PAY CHECK!!!
That's right! 3 weeks of work with no pay!
All I can say is that the paycheck that I was DUE to receive on Wednesday is THERE on Monday, or I am walking.

Homesick

Got off work at 3:30 today. Had to leave extra early, because of the hour cut, AND because I covered for someone who was off the past two days.

The day went fine until the last minute, when I found out I had done something wrong with a deposit. Did I mention I was trained on how to do deposits over the phone? Yes. Yes, I did.

It couldn't be fixed, and I had no choice but to leave because of the hour cuts....so oh well.

I am looking forward to being out of there for 4 days.

In other news, I think my sadness and feeling of "not being myself" has to do more with tomorrow being the first major holiday since my move, than it does with being unhappy with my new job so far.

I just burst into tears a little while ago when I saw a picture of my dance friends, doing their first performance without me.

It just all hit like a ton of bricks. I think I need a good cry.

Thanksgiving is coming.....

The scent of rotting particle board permeates our home. It kept me awake last night. Guh. Disgusting.

The maintenance guy came back today, and, instead of ripping out the sopped, caved in shelf floor, he slapped a layer of plywood over the rotting shelf, screwed it to the frame, and left it that way.

So, while the mold forms under there, we will just have to deal with it, I guess!

BRILLIANT solution, don't you think?

I washed the messy kitchen floor with Dr. Bronner's peppermint castile soap. For the moment, the place smells pretty good!

At least they did something so we could put everything back in the cabinet before Thanksgiving.

I've only cooked a Thanksgiving dinner once before. It was when I was a vegetarian. I invited my recently heart broken brother.

The meal was great, made in a medieval style, during my early days as a living history cooking demonstrator. I made pasties, and pumpkin soup, and rolls.

I've never, however, cooked a turkey before. I got just a breast for my first attempt, and got a fresh one.

I am going to put a layer of bacon over it, and bake it like a chicken. Dunno what else to do!

Then, there's going to be the compulsory green bean casserole, and baked potatoes, and pumpkin pie for dessert, with real whipped cream.

It will just be me and Dave, and my step son. Dave's parents will have dinner at the home Dad lives in.

Thanksgiving dinner was served today where I work, but I did not eat. I felt funny about it. All the other girls in the office ate, though, and said the food was great.

I spent the day tucked into my office, filing.

Wearing on me....

I am exhausted.

Plain and simple.

The weekend was ok. It was nice to be off work, but I was just too tired to enjoy it much. I didn't feel well on Saturday, but we had to go out and do a zillion errands anyway.

We got home Saturday evening to discover that there was 2 inches of standing water in the cabinets below the sink.

Dave called maintenance, and a guy eventually showed up with a glass light globe to use as a bucket.

Yeah.

He said "I'm the painter. The maintenance guy will be by first thing Monday morning."

So, I made my batch of soup anyway, and we did the dishes like normal, and there was no water coming from anywhere. There hasn't been more than a drip or two since we discovered the mess.

All of our cleaning products and small appliances got wet, and are sitting on the dining room floor.

The maintenance guy came today and ran the dishwasher.

We use the dishwasher for storage. Ass hat. What a mess.

And he couldn't see a leak coming from anywhere under the sink, so we have to leave all of our stuff sitting out for a few days, and if there's no more leak, he is going to come back, and replace the floor of the cabinet (which is soaked particle board, so it's caving in).

Then, we just have to hope it never happens again, because he isn't going to do anything else.

Other than him making a mess of the stuff we store in the dish washer, he DID bring something to sop up the standing water.

In other news, we saw "The Men who Stare at Goats" yesterday. VERY funny movie. I highly recommend it.

We tried to go work out yesterday, but, for some reason, the gym was locked.

Today, we were going to go after work, but I had to stay late to cover for someone, and am just too plain exhausted. I don't feel well again. Low grade fever, headache, scratchy throat, upset stomach. Just like Saturday.

Yeah, they cut my hours, and I had to stay late. Will have to stay late again tomorrow. BUT the upside of that is that on Wednesday, I have to take that extra time off, and get to leave at 3:30.

That will be a welcome break....leave an hour and a half early, and then be off for 4 days.

Maybe I will re-work my resume and get it back out there.

Tonight? Bubble bath and a cup of Trader Joe's Bedtime Tea. (thanks, Elsa!)

Respite

I am SO glad this week is over!

My trainer was supposed to spend time with me this morning, training me on how to run statements.

Then, the plan was to finish clearing out the old files in my office, the boxes I packed two weeks ago, and to re-arrange furniture between my office and my billers' office, so I could get my desk with a keyboard tray.

She was going to order us pizza, and we all wore jeans.

What actually happened, was my trainer spent about 10 minutes with me, started that statements project, and then she was on a conference call for THREE HOURS.

Three hours.
Yeah.
I was in limbo that whole time, because I had to leave my terminal up and running, waiting for the project she left me in the middle of to get finished.

I did what I could, after a while. Emptied desk drawers, and put away my personal items, in anticipation of trading my desk out for the empty one in my girls' office.

But mostly, I waited. Gawd.

One of the girls finally went and interrupted her and got her credit card so we could order our pizza. It was 1 pm and we were STARVING.

The pizza came, and we all punched out and ate in their office. I sat on the floor. They had gotten a LOT done, because they were able to disconnect everything.

FINALLY, she got off the phone, and finished the statements herself. I never got to learn what I am supposed to do, so when it's time to do statements next month, I will be clueless!

After our late lunch, we got back to work, and some of the guys from maintenance finally showed up and helped move the heavy stuff.

I got my new desk, and my new book case (both just swapped out with the other room), and got stuff sort of organized.

There was a lot of heavy lifting and furniture moving in a concentrated few hours, so I am sore and exhausted....and what a CROCK of crap for training I got!

She's on vacation next week, and I just have to wing it! I've heard, through the grapevine, that saying that my training sucked is not an acceptable excuse when my poor job performance comes up...and it will!

Great.

nevermind....

So, the company song and dance changed.

Now, I DO have to take the hour cut, AND I am also required to take 3 furlough days in addition to my already unpaid holidays over the next two months.

Grand.

So I won't get a full pay check, after all, until the middle of January. But I guess a partial paycheck is better than no paycheck at all, and at least it's only until the end of the year.

In addition, my promised three weeks of training is being eaten into again. My trainer is on vacation all next week! Fortunately, two of my unpaid days off (a holiday and the day after) are next week, so I only have to be alone in the office for 3 days instead of 5.

Instead of three weeks, I will actually, in truth, have 5 days of training. This job is so full of detail, and there are so many responsibilities, that they've asked me to give it 6 months to get used to....yet they can't seem to be able to provide me with the training I will need in order to get used to it at all.

Sigh....I will not fail to bring this up if I get a bad review on something I am doing.

Tuesday from heck

SO, my trainer was back today, but she was mostly on the phone with other facilities. I spent immeasurable hours just sitting at my desk, waiting for her to have time for me.

She left me alone to complete a deposit at the end of the day, after only telling me half of the steps. (and, I also might point out, that my training on how to do deposits was done OVER THE PHONE....last week.)

It took me three tries to get it done, because I didn't know all of the steps, and so everything I entered disappeared the first two times. My notes from the phone conversation last week were either incomplete, or else she forgot to tell me one of the steps.

Either way, I was expected to do a deposit based on a phone call from last Friday.

Gawd.

Telling someone how to do a process over the phone, and then not reviewing it for the first hands on time of doing it......well.......This is NOT how I would train a person!!

When I was a trainer at my last job, I would sit with the person doing the deposit through the entire process, and make sure that she knew all of the steps and could balance on her own, before even considering leaving her alone to do the work by herself.

Anyway, the good news is, I was able to point out the reasons why I have had so much trouble with the census.
As a result, the person whom I found out was NOT PROVIDING me with the information that I need in order to complete the census accurately is now required to provide said info!

Based on what others have told me about this person, she was doing it intentionally.

This individual has had it in for me since before I even started, because she wanted my job. She is the one I was warned to "watch," and told to "watch my back" with.

She has already tried a couple of things to undermine me. This withholding census information was one of them, and now it's been fixed.

The daily census should no longer be an ordeal of stress, with me feeling like an abject IDIOT because I could not get my numbers to match anyone else's!!!

She knew that keeping certain info from me could potentially make me seem like an incompetent moron.
She is no longer allowed to withhold that information, and has to submit it to three different people every day now, for accountability.

That little back stabber will find, hopefully, that she can't get away with squat anymore.

Anyway, this afternoon, we had a meeting between the business office (just me, actually, not my team), the administrators, and the admissions office, regarding this issue.

During that meeting, the Chief Administrator, my boss's boss (everyone's top boss, actually), said, in front of everyone in the room, that I have been doing a great job, despite the challenges with the census that have now been corrected.

Then, when I left tonight, she said "You're doing great, I'm proud of you!" and patted me on the back.

So, either she meant it, or else she has been getting a sense of my frustration and dismay. Not sure which.

Either way, though, that helped make all of the other shit feel a little better!

I am glad that Dave and I have started to use the gym here at the apartment complex. I really needed to blow off some steam after work, and the work out helped.

What did I get myself into?

So I made it through the triple-whammy census this morning only because someone else had to do the numbers for me.

Then, I found out that my hours are being cut. Not just mine, but everyone's. It's an effort to avoid lay offs in the face of an unbalanced corporate budget.

I won't even see a full pay check before the hour cuts start.

Grand.

UPDATE: my supervisor left me a voice mail on my cell while I was driving home. I just picked it up.

She said that she had hoped to talk to me before I left, to ease my mind.

Then, she said that I am exempt from the hour cuts because I am so new.

This makes me feel better.

It's not fair to new employees to have to take a cut before their first pay check! Especially because we don't GET the benefits or the holidays or the vacation or the sick time yet.

I have never worked for a company that makes you wait 6 months before you earn ANY benefits. It's usually 90 days.

At this job, I will not earn paid holidays, or start to accumulate paid time off for vacation or sick leave, until May.

So, that being said, I do feel better on one hand, but knowing that I work for a company that is doing this after already recovering from a bankruptcy makes me a little leery.

Anxiety

My trainer isn't in tomorrow, either...so I have been feeling waves of anxiety on and off all day.

I have no idea how to do daily census on a Monday. That's the thing I have to do in the morning to have ready to present to the department heads. It's a way to verify the previous day's resident count. Monday, it would seem, should be different than the other days of the week, but I don't know.
Do I do the weekend days, too? Or just Friday? If I have to do the weekend days, too, that means the process has to be done three times in the first half hour of the day, instead of once.

*sigh*

When I was hired, the story was that I would have plenty of support and training.
When I asked for clarification, the answer was that I would have at least three weeks of training before I was left alone.

I got two days. Two DAYS.

At least I have the trainer's cell phone number.

I am trying to relax. I understand that feeling anxiety is normal when starting a new job, and that, in itself, helps me relax a little.

But two days of overwhelming, break-free training, and then leave me alone for two days?

That's just plain absurd.

I am still trying to think positively, though, and to remain excited about this huge opportunity. I think that the fear of failure just has me by the throat right now.

Thank the gods THAT's over!

Made it through yesterday, with only one minor catastrophe. Fortunately, I was able to fix my error.

Also fortunately, the Administrator (my direct supervisor) arrived back from her late lunch in the nick of time.

The receptionist had come back to my office to tell me that a resident's husband was waiting out in the lobby to talk to me about why he was sent to collections.

Stunned, I looked at her, and said "This is my third day...I don't know anything yet!!"
She, of course, shrugged her shoulders and walked away, leaving the man's collection letter in my hand.

I panicked. I truly don't know ANYTHING yet, and am certainly not equipped to speak to residents, patients, or family members!!

After asking my billers for ideas, and help looking over the resident's account....I took a deep breath, and decided I couldn't leave the poor man sitting out there for ever. I decided I had to at least go out and TRY to talk to him, and as I was on my way, the Admin was suddenly there to bale me out!

She talked to him while I listened. I totally would not have known what to do....I still don't even understand what SHE did!!

It took me a while to calm down from that panic.

Then, the rest of the day, I spent observing one of my billers. That was boring, but stress free.

At the end of the day, the Admin called out to me after I said good bye..."Please come back next week!" and she ran out and hugged me.

What the eff is that supposed to mean?

I am SO glad it's the weekend!

Overload

Well, I am pretty overwhelmed and exhausted. The amount of information that is being poured over me is immense.

This facility is HUGE, and my new responsibilities are vast.

Fortunately, my trainer is off to Tulsa tomorrow and Monday, so I get a respite.

All I have to do is be able to put together a report by myself on those two mornings, provided I can remember how, and the rest will be observation.

The report I have to run, however, is crucial to a building-wide meeting that takes place EVERY DAY at 10. I have to present to 30 department heads.

I wrote down the step by steps, and just pray that it comes out right, and that I remember what I'm supposed to do with it!

Gawd.

My trainer is disorganized and scattered, so, while she's rambling on for hours non stop, there are papers strewn all over my desk, and her coffee container is over here, and her candy wrappers are over there, and her pen is here, and the stapler is there, and it's utter chaos.

I work much better when things are orderly. And she doesn't take breaks! I had to stop her today, and say "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I HAVE to eat!"

Then, today, she left while I was in a required education meeting, and when I came back to my office, her candy wrappers, and half empty pop cup from lunch were still on my desk!

That was just rude.

Anyway...I need a break from her, because, as stated above, she doesn't TAKE breaks...so I have spent nearly 17 solid hours with her over the past two days.

She probably needs time away from ME, too!

It's all so clear to me now....

HAH! To "HELP" clean out my office? NO...I had to do it all myself! I loaded up 7 huge banker's boxes, which weigh a TON when filled with files.

My entire body hurts today. I strained muscles in my neck down to my legs.
I had NO idea heavy lifting was in my job description.

Then, I filed a 2 foot tall stack of papers (which was literally one third of what was there to begin with). Into filing cabinets that have not been cleared out for years. There's no ROOM to file anything else, but yet, I was told to just do my best.

I tore one nail off (and I don't wear long nails), and practically sprained a wrist trying to get papers into files in those drawers

And today, those boxes were all still just sitting there. The two remaining piles of papers were still there.
My office isn't any cleaner, nor closer to being painted, and no one else has done anything to help clean it...and I was in orientation today ALL DAY.

Now I know how to clean up a "spill" (read puddle of piss or vomit), and how to handle an upset patient who doesn't want to eat his gruel, or who has found what is in his diaper.

The orientation was clearly mapped out for nurses and nurses aides, and not for business office personnel, but I had to attend anyway.

There was a unit on blood and body fluid. There was a unit on how to lift someone into a shower. There was a unit on handling "sharps." There was a unit on how they prepare thickened liquids for people who can't swallow anything more than that.

Many of the hours spent in orientation had nothing what so ever to do with what my job will be. Some of it was interesting, most of it was icky! *laughing*

But, since my office is IN the facility, I suppose I need to know some of that stuff in the event that I witness something.

AND, I had no idea that I will be expected to go into patient rooms if the call light is on.

I am not a patient care specialist, but I am not allowed to walk past a room where the call light is on.
I have to step in and find out what's wrong with the patient, and try to help, or get someone who can.

EEEK! I had NO idea that was part of the job description of Office Manager!!

The place is set up so that I will have to walk through wards to get to various offices inside of the building (it seems that, in this industry, we call our facility a "building" not a "home," not a "facility"), so the possibility DOES exist that I will have to do this.

If anyone SEES me walk past a call light, they can report me to my supervisor.

From what I have heard, that WILL happen, because the widely touted UN-official policy in the building is "EAT THE NEW."

Great.

One of the scary things was that, as I was introduced as the new business office manager to various people who work there, I was met with "oh...good luck, honey."

Great.

The head of HR told me to watch my back.

Grand.

Apparently, the majority of the staff in the admin offices, where I will be, is new. This is because the level of in fighting, back stabbing, and sabotage was sufficient to cause the entire department to basically implode.

There is one person left from that time, and when she was told that there was a new manager hired, she rolled her eyes, and expressed abject disgust.

Goodie!

SO---now I understand why they pursued me so aggressively. Why they offered me so much money. And why my name was already on the door when I got there yesterday.

They are DESPERATE.

I just hope I can take it!

Suffice to say, I am a little taken aback now, and a little worried. BUT, if I can stand up to any bullshit that gets tried on me, perhaps that will be good for me in more ways than one.

The last Monday of "vacation"

A weekend of errands and visits left little free time.

This morning was my last morning to sleep late. Of course, I couldn't actually sleep!

Today, I go to the new office at noon, in jeans, to help them clean it out, so they can paint it for me.

Tomorrow is orientation. That day will start at 8, which will be my regular start time from now on. No jeans tomorrow!

I find it interesting that it was not that many posts ago when I was lamenting about starting to get used to being off work.

I was speculating about the possibility of calling off the job search, and waiting til next year, because nothing seemed to be happening.

Heh...

What a difference a week makes!

Martin Park Nature Center

The zoom on my cheap little camera works pretty well! This clump of mistletoe was high above our heads, in the bare branches of an oak.

The Red Earth-striations in the clay and sandstone





A river runs through it.

Since we FINALLY accomplished the arduous task of getting my driver license, Dave and I decided to take some of our unexpected afternoon together, and go to the nearest nature preserve.

This place is several miles to the north, and kind of a long trip, but it's worth it.

Dave took me here the first time I visited, and I spotted a clump of mistletoe that time, too. I've never actually SEEN mistletoe growing wild anywhere else in my life, before or since.

There are actual oaks at this preserve that have BEEN here for centuries. No where else around OKC have I seen real, mature trees!

The weirdest thing is, though, that there weren't any squirrels. Anywhere!!!

I am used to there being squirrels everywhere I go, sometimes in great numbers, especially in fall, when the oaks and walnuts and hickories have all dropped their bounty to the ground!

But, for all of the trails we walked in those woods yesterday, NOT ONE squirrel.

The only squirrels I have seen since my arrival in Oklahoma have been in urban/suburban areas.
We spotted one...just one, over at the Myriad Gardens botanic center in downtown OKC.
Then yesterday, we saw two, playing together, as Dave drove me through some impressive sub- divisions, where the wealthier half live.

There are woods bordering our apartment complex, and trees planted throughout...but there has not been any evidence of squirrels, and there are very few birds.

The acorns under the oak tree near the office and mail boxes are just going to rot on the ground.

It's just.....strangely barren.

We DO have water birds in our complex, though. Lots of ducks, and sometimes, there are geese, and occasionally, a kingfisher or heron visits.

So....anyway, yes....after eight trips to two different agencies, I finally have my driver license, and my car is registered.

Today is probably my last day of being unemployed.

I am still waiting to hear if I am to report to work next week on Monday, or Tuesday. She had originally said Tuesday, but then she had the idea that I COULD come in on Monday, in jeans, and help clean all of the files and boxes out of my office that don't belong there.

Sure, for what they've said they are going to pay me per hour...I'll go schlep boxes! Hell yeah!

So I am doing laundry, and plan to make a batch of burritos this afternoon.

The weather has been very strange to me. It's in the 70's and sunny, so I have a great deal of difficulty believing that it's NOVEMBER.

Where I come from, November tends to be cold, and dark, and damp. Not at all like this!

Acceptance

I accepted the position at the nursing home.

I went this morning and had my drug test done. Next week, they'll do the TB test, and all of the other paperwork.

Funny thing was, they had me fill out a job application today!

I've already been hired to be a prominent person in their administrative offices, but I still had to fill out this form! I thought that was pretty funny.

The interview at the University of Oklahoma Physicians was in the Chemotherapy lab. The woman who interviewed me seemed very unhappy, and she clearly doesn't like her job or the people. It did not feel as though she would be good to work under.

Plus, the salary offer was pretty low (while still more than I made at my last job), and there are no University related benefits, such as tuition assistance. I was surprised about that....but she could have been wrong about that, judging by the timbre of my time in her office.

The one benefit she was most articulate about has to do with the earned time off policy. Working for the clinic, you earn 18 HOURS of paid time off EVERY MONTH, beginning immediately.

That works out to 5 and a half WEEKS of vacation at the outset! The more years you work, the higher the number goes.

I figure it's a way to compensate people who are NOT students, or otherwise University people, who need to have an INCOME during the times of year when the University is shut down, like spring break and winter break.

The chemo lab, however, doesn't close. Patients need chemo when they need it, regardless of if it's Christmas day.

Anyway, I felt like I was being suffocated and drained of all my energy, while I sat across from her for well over an hour.

She said I was her first interview, and that she'd be in touch next week.

Today, however, I had a phone call from someone at OU Health Sciences. This is thanks to my cousin, who put in a good word for me, and sent my resume to a colleague over there. We'll see what they have to say.

No sense closing that door yet. Waiting for her callback at the moment. (she called while I was sitting at a stop light. Of course, the light changed as soon as she introduced herself. I probably should have let it go to voice mail, rather than having to say "I'm sorry...I'm driving right now, and I have to hang up...." She said she'd call me back in an hour. It's been an hour and a half...so...who knows?)

Dave is taking this afternoon off, and we will HOPEFULLY finalize the process of getting my driver's license. Two more trips...one to the state police, and one last trip to the tag agency again.

This will have taken 8 trips in all, back and forth, for this and that, before it's over. Uneffingbelievable!

But, in terms of acceptance, I guess I just have to accept that all of the RED TAPE is why Oklahoma is one of the reddest of the red states!

Big news

The big news is, the interview with the nursing home administrator went exceptionally well.

She not only answered my questions fully, but she allayed all of my fears, and took me on a tour of the facility.

It was much cleaner, and the residents seemed more comfortable, than any of those reviews and surveys I'd seen seemed to indicate.

I told her that I have two more interviews this week, but that I'd love to hear from her.

She named a ball park figure that ALMOST made me drop my jaw, but I maintained composure, and I took my leave.

Then, while I was still driving home, she left me a message.

I called her back. When I had left her office, she had immediately checked in with corporate, who had wished they could hire me 2 weeks ago when they interviewed me.

She offered me the job, and a salary that was even with the ballpark figure, IF I was still interested.

I explained that, YES, I am definitely still interested, but that I did still wish to pursue the interview I have scheduled for today, which I had mentioned to her during my interview.
She was fine with that, and asked me to call her on her cell as soon as I have a firm decision.

Now, all I have to do is go pee in a cup, and I can start work next Tuesday!

This afternoon, I have that interview at University of Oklahoma Physicians.
I feel it's necessary to pursue this interview for several reasons.

1) Medical billing REALLY IS my area of expertise, not business office management.

2) Working for a university has it's perks! Like free tuition, or at least reduced tuition.

3) My mom was an alum, and there's just something serendipitous about potentially getting to work for her beloved alma mater...and, as a result of working there, possibly make it my alma mater as well.

The commute to the OU doctors' office is about as far across OKC as it can get. It will be a good half hour to 45 minute commute, depending on morning traffic.

But it's in the more upscale part of OKC, and taking that commute will get me more familiar with the downtown area as well.

The nursing home is a 10 minute drive away, on this side of town, which makes it EXTREMELY convenient. But I have to go through some dicey neighborhoods on that commute if I decide to avoid the freeway.

I'd have my own office, with my name on the door...yes, an actual DOOR. The administrator said yesterday that they will redecorate the office any way I want it. She also said that the piles of files and papers that I saw in there two weeks ago do not BELONG in there, and will not be my responsibility to clean up.
They've just been using that room as a "catch all," since it's been vacant for a few months. She said that would be cleared up before I come on board next week.


I don't even know yet what the job at OU Phys is about, much less if there will be an office, or a cube facing into a corner like my last job.


So. Lots to consider.

House guest

Sunning himself

Captured, and ready for transport

This guy appeared sitting atop our hedge this morning, sunning himself right outside our door.

I didn't notice him until I returned from an errand, around noon. Not sure how long he was there before I noticed him.

He's (she?) probably either an escaped pet, or an irresponsibly disposed of pet, poor fellow.

He's actually a pretty good size, and appears to be healthy. He was extremely docile and lethargic when I captured him, but now that he's someplace warm, he's a bit more active. He's quite beautiful.

I gave him a couple of small pieces of apple, but he's not eating them. There's obviously no way to know when he may last have eaten, but he's not interested in it at the moment.

When Dave gets home, he will take him over to the local pet store that specializes in reptiles.

He will be safe there, and well cared for, until someone buys him. It's a win win win....we get to be heroes for the little guy, he gets a safe place to be, and the store gets to sell him!

Possibly for a second time!!

In the meantime, Jack the Cat is keeping vigilant watch!!

Going back!

My second interview at the nursing home is at 4:15 today. Here's to hoping we can meet on common ground, and that I will have a job offer soon.

In other news, the fiasco of trying to get my driver license CONTINUES!

Last night, Dave and I went BACK to the tag agency (this is 4 times, so far) with my title and the new registration I just got last Friday (which, you may recall, is in my old name), and asked them to correct my name while they're in the process of transferring the title to Oklahoma.

I took the marriage certificate, and my Social Security Card, and my Illinois title.

At first it seemed like they could do it....but no.
It seems that my middle initial on the old title is H, not B. Without something that adequately documents the change from H to B, they must leave it as H.

ALL of the old documents showing my old name are H, not B. It was the same on my old registration.

*sigh*

(Aside: this may be a repeat of something I've posted before...but....when I got married the first time, I changed my middle name to my maiden name, since I was the last one in the family.
By the time I got married the second time, my brother had had a son, so I was no longer the last one to bear the family name. I changed my middle name BACK to the one given to me at birth when I married last year. This has proven to be THE MOST HEINOUS of things to do, apparently, because NOT ONCE has it NOT been a problem in the process of changing my name on something!!)

SO....after Dave's expected "Oh, for cryin' out loud," or whatever it was he said, I was prepared to just let them transfer everything over to the legal last name, leaving the middle initial incorrect, and hope that my trip to the state police would result in the correction of H to B.

The tag agency rep could not understand why I was not in possession of COURT PAPERS showing my full name change.

I explained that, in Illinois, the marriage certificate shows the name BEFORE the wedding, not after, because you don't HAVE the new legal name when you fill out the application for the marriage certificate!

I explained that, for the change to be legal, all I had to do was submit it to the Social Security Administration, with a certified copy of the marriage certificate, and they would send me a new card, and my new name.... "Here," I said, "Here is the card. THAT is the only legal documentation that exists."

The rep I was working with this time said he could take a photo copy of everything I had brought with me, including my Illinois license, which shows the correct middle initial, and see what he could find out.

I paid my $12.50, with the .25c surcharge for using a credit card, and we left.

Then, the rep called me this morning.
He did some checking, and found a solution.
I have to GO BACK OVER THERE, and sign my Illinois title over to myself, one name to another, as though I sold the car to myself.

He said that the "tax commission" said that's the only way, since I don't have "court papers."

Now, YOU WOULD THINK that a federal document, my Social Security card, would be a sufficient alternative to "court papers," to prove that I am who I say I am...but IT'S NOT, IN OKLAHOMA!!

Instead, I literally have to falsify a different legal document to get them to acknowledge what is printed on the Social Security Card!

Holy, holy, crap.

SO--today, I am going back to the tag agency ONE MORE TIME, and then, later, I am going back to that nursing home.

Let's hope it's all good by the end of the day.

Frustimication

Well, we had ONE trick or treater on Halloween. She was adorable....her mommy said she was 22 months old. She was dressed as a clown.

Dave is taking it upon himself to clean up the bag of candy we bought. There are 2 pieces left. He's made a valiant effort!

Our Spiritual holiday started at sun down last night, and goes through today.

So, NOW it's officially been 6 weeks. There are no new job listings on the boards, and haven't been since Wednesday.
More to the point, there ARE new listings, but they are for RN's, and Phlebotomists, Hospitalists (which is a newfangled kind of MD), and Certified Medical Assistants.

I did pretty well last Wednesday, submitting 4 on line applications, and sending a fax cover letter to work with Dave.

My experience has been, however, that NO ONE RESPONDS to on line applications!

They WANT you to apply on line. In fact, they insist upon it. But they rarely send an acknowledgment, and never a "thanks, but no thanks" email.

It's like the OVERWHELMING majority of these hundred or so applications that I've submitted since August have simply gone out into cyberspace, and disappeared.

One of those applications on Wednesday was a second try at the company that interviewed me at the end of September. (the one my ex boss referred me to)
They DID respond to my submission. I replied to their response, and said I'd already filled out the application, and already been interviewed, and was just trying to get my name back into the hat.

They did not respond to my reply.

And, looking at the listings on three websites, there's been nothing since.

Whatever it was that my brother in law read before my move, that indicated OKLAHOMA is THE PLACE to go if you need a job, must not have been written by someone who is actually LOOKING for a job.

Or, perhaps it's just my field that's "all full up!"

The nursing home is supposed to contact me this week for a second interview. If they don't, I am going to assume that the position was filled already.

It's been brought to my attention that this time of year is usually a bust for job searching. Companies frequently just stop hiring in November and December, and I might be better off just waiting until February, and then start over.

At least my tenant has sent me her first rent check (aside from the deposit and 1st month's rent required at lease signing).

That's one less thing to worry about.